Cadopolis Selected Feeds

Concrete Beam Hidden Line Display Parameter

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:01 GMT

In Autodesk Revit Structure, we can get different hidden lines by setting a parameter called: Display in Hidden Views

Use the following case to explain how to:

There is a floor and a T shape beam under the floor (See Figure 1).

(Figure 1)

Select the beam and click edit family. In beam family editor, open family category and parameters dialog, for parameter "Display in hidden views", there are 3 options (See Figure 2):

1. Edges Hidden by Beam Itself

2. Edges Hidden by Other Members

3. All Edges

(Figure 2)

Let's apply the 3 parameters and compare the differences:

1. Edges Hidden by Beam Itself, only show beam edges in hidden line which are hidden by beam itself (See Figure 3)

(Figure 3)

2. Edges Hidden by Other Members, only show beam edges which are hidden by floor (other member) (See Figure 4).

(Figure 4)

3. All Edges, represents edges including 1 & 2 (See Figure 5):

(Figure 5)

You can also find this parameter in concrete column family editor as well.

Happy Fourth of July

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:45 GMT

Tomorrow is the day America celebrates its independence. As they have been all week, our Autodesk offices in the Unites States are closed today. Tomorrow we will spend the day with family, eat hot dogs, and watch fireworks at night. Regardless of what country you are in, working or not, enjoy the day.

More Punishment for Siemens

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:19 GMT

Since 2000, Siemens spent $1.7 billion on some 4,000 bribes in a dozen countries. Last year, they got fined $1.4 billion by the US and German governments. This week, they got more punishment, this time for bribery involving a World...

My new car, was $617,000, now only...

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:39 GMT

I wonder what they'd take, considering the Ferrari 430 Scuderia is ex-demo and a Fiat Bravo HGT trade-in...

Exercise: Drawing a 3D Roof Using Profiles

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:07 GMT

We're going to draw a roof onto the frame seen in the figure. [We'll be assuming that the user knows basic 3D and UCS topics] Run the Rectangle command. Specify the first point. Create a 10×10 rectangle by typing 10,10 in the command line. Run the Line command. From the two corners of the rectangle, draw lines of 3 unit's [...]

SketchUp Plugins: Google's Ruby Scripts

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:04 GMT

Google has a set of Plugins (ruby Scripts) on the SU website
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
Google has a set of Plugins for SketchUp that can be downloaded directly from their website here.
The list includes:

Bezier: to create Bezier curves
Rotated Rectangle: for creating rotated rectangles.
Shapes: to create and editing a number of parametric shapes.
Window Maker: for creating parametric double-hung and slider windows. (different than the Windowizer Plugin)
Grids: to create parametric grids.
Onion Dome: to create onion domes.
Simplify Contours: it simplifies the geometry, making it easier to work with.

Most of them are for very basic operations, but once you have them you'll miss them if you don't have them anymore, so keep the link for when you transfer to a new workstation.

Dynamite VSP 4.0

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:07 GMT

Double news bulletin:

3am Solutions has released their latest version of their flagship product - Dynamite VSP 4.0.

Full compatibility with 3ds MAX Design 2010 & AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010
Full 64bit support

In addition, U.S. CAD has become authorized to sell Dynamite-VSP within the United States. I hope to give you more info as we become deeply involved with this product.

Surveyors – Get Connected

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:37 GMT

Howdy folks. (I thought it would be prudent to use the cowboy greeting since the Calgary Stampede begins today.) I have a number of surveyor clients who are a little jazzed about 3 new tidbits from the developers of the 2010 version. Check them out after the jump. First tidbit. You need not use an FBK [...]

Virtual Memory

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:33 GMT

Quick items to share/remind...

Set Minimum and Maximum to the same value between 2-3 times the available RAM on your PC. Making them the same means that Windows does not adjust the amount that is available on the fly.

Dedicated "drive" for Virtual Memory - If possible use a second drive and dedicate it to Virtual Memory, easier for a workstation.

Vista Users - USB memory stick can provide extra RAM via Vista Ready Boost feature. Thanks to Ed Tallmadge for making me aware of this feature though I have yet to take the time to install Vista myself since somewhere along the way I found that I really don't enjoy rebuilding my computers anymore?!?

One general comment on RAM - resist the urge to install a 64 bit OS and "under-power" it by only providing 4gb of RAM. You will likely get poorer performance. You need at least 6gb of RAM, ideally more like 8. I'm not "geeky" enough to explain why in technical terms adequately but the folks I trust on these matters assure me that we shouldn't do it.

Last, keep in mind...your hardware and software combinations are different from mine and others so your mileage will vary! 8-)

New RDB Link Tool for Revit Family

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00 GMT

New RDB Link Tool for Revit Family Available on Autodesk Labs!

Check out the new RDB Link Tool! The RDB Link tool enables you to export data from the elements in a Revit project and maintain relationships against data that exists outside of Revit. The tool allows for both import and export of the project data and will allow the user to make changes on the database side that affect the data within the project once imported. Learn more by visiting Autodesk Labs and downloading today!

Supported Applications

§ Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010

§ Autodesk Revit Structure 2010

§ Autodesk Revit MEP 2010

Supported database platforms

§ Supported databases when running under 32 bit: MS Access 2003/2007 and SQL Server

2005/2008.

§ Supported databases when running under 64 bit: SQL Server 2005/2008.

Experiment with Rendered Lighting in AutoCAD 2010

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:48 GMT

I have been experimenting with rendering on AutoCAD 2010 lately as it can be fun creating eye candy and thought I would share one experiment result.

In this experiment I created a faux Las Vegas utra lounge design in 3D with AutoCAD 2010. For my custom light pipe floor lamps I created some vertical tubes made of plastic with a translucent helical orange plastic tube along the length then a base, lamp shade and a light illuminating from the top. I was also kicking around the idea of the lamp shades shaped like mushrooms just to be even more Las Vegas or Alice in Wonder’ish.

Note: When rendering an intensely lit scene in presentation quality, it can raise the office temperature with your computer working hard to calculate all the lighting. ;-)

What was an interesting result to me was the spiral reflection patterns on the marble floor.

As Matt Murphy would say “wicked cool”.

Cheers,
Shaan

Craig Venter shows Richard Dawkins around The Institute for Genomic Research

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:42 GMT

This isn't CAD or BIM but the hardware, technology and science seen in this tour of The Institute for Genomic Research is amazing. Genome sequencing depends on high end computer technology and the pro...

I Thought You Might Like A CAD Application Like This

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:45 GMT

Eddy Kuo is one of our Autodesk Labs developers. Eddy has worked a great deal on multi-touch. Eddy worked with Hans Kellner to integrate the multi-touch capabilities into our demo version of Autodesk Design Review. Many of you have gotten your hands on this version at the past two Autodesk Universities. If I had to put my finger on it, I'd say that based on his research and development, Eddy is interested in human-computer interaction in general - not just multi-touch. So it was no surprise to me last week when Eddy shared some of his thoughts on brain-based interaction with computers.

Stepping into Future of Human Computer Interface NOW with Brain Computing

Imagine using brain computing technology to control a design application.
You could convert visual feedback quickly and make adjustments, e.g., The wall is too thick, make it thinner.
The application would materialize abstract concepts from the brain.
This would perhaps even bring out the unconscious? Secretly I do want the walls to be lime green.
It would provide immersion beyond the visual feedback. Sight and sound are easy. What about touch and smell?
A brain-based approach would provide the most intuitive interface yet (when it is working). Oops I just sneezed. The application interpreted that as an AutoCAD wipe-out. Sigh. I guess I'll just have to "undo" by thinking "undo."

To see that this is not total science fiction, there are two companies selling brain–computing hardware, for more info please visit:

And games that are currently using this technology:

Thanks Eddy. Technologies like this would really put the "aid" in computer aided design. Thinking about our friend, the brain, is alive in the lab.

Use Task-Appropriate Tools

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:48 GMT

Next time a vendor tells you to upgrade his software, ask youself if you even need the software -- never mind the upgrade. The US Navy did. Check out the aircraft and bomb databases described in The Nimitz Goes To...

MailWasher, a work in progress update

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:09 GMT

I find MailWasher an essential tool allowing me to see all mail that comes to my accounts but ensure no spam reaches my Inbox. While many ISP's mail services have their own spam filters MailWasher giv...

Hip Tip: Aligning Text Using Quick Properties.

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:02 GMT

Hello Dear friends, I have been talking for quite a while about using the quick properties window to change the geometrical values of objects. Fig.1 Text I want to align. If your Quick Properties window is active in AutoCAD 2009 (activate it using CTRL+SHIFT+P), all the porperties of the selected object appear in the window. If the selection [...]

AUGI 2009 Special Election is underway - please vote!

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:04 GMT

I am echoing the BLAUGI post and various other blog posts on this subject with the hope that we will have a much improved voter turnout compared with the last election in December 2008.

The AUGI Board of Directors Ballot is OPEN - 2009 Special Election

The AUGI 2009 Special Election is underway...

We have four candidates on the slate. Only two seats are open for the Board.

Each candidate should be considered individually. A candidate is elected based on total Yes votes counted. You may vote on all four candidates, but you may only vote Yes on a total of two candidates. The two candidates receiving the largest number of Yes votes will be elected.

The process of narrowing down the number of qualified nominees to the four candidates included on this year's ballot was a difficult one. The candidates that are elected will serve the remainder of a two year period that continues through December, 2010.

We commend all the nominees and candidates for their willingness to serve and be part of this process. Their credentials and dedicated service are one of the reasons that AUGI is such a strong organization. It is through members such as these that we continue to expand the offerings, programs, events, and training to AUGI members.

NOTE: You must have been a member of AUGI for at least 30 days prior to the close of nominations (May 24, 2009) to be able to vote in this year's Board of Directors election.

Your Vote Counts!

Please VOTE NOW

"Quick! Someone pull it back up before someone notices!"

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:41 GMT

The title of this post is taken from the replies/comments section of the original article FOUND HERE. I hope it's ok to use your comment seizurelitezrfun; let me know if not... There are so many possible things to say about this I'm at a loss... my brain is flooding (HA) at all the possible comebacks...

The Order of Parameters - Revisited

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:40 GMT

This seems to come up now and again so I've decided to post what I wrote at AUGI this evening here too...echo echo. Regarding the eternal question, "Can I change the order of the parameters in the Family Editor?"

I wrote THIS POST in November 2007. Scott Hopkins shared a tip at AUGI and the post includes a link for that thread at AUGI.

Parameters are "stacked" as you create them, the "oldest" goes on the bottom, in the group you assign it to. It doesn't matter whether you use alpha or numeric etc...oldest goes on the bottom. If you create several "placeholders" like XXXX, XXX, XX, XX you can create them and then rename them so they appear in the desired order. This assumes that you know what you need and how many as you start out, easier said than done.

Scott's technique will help after the fact. None of these will help when you use shared parameters however...for those you have to "live" with where they land. Naming parameters with common names first followed by differentiators will help keep related parameters together.

Wish it were as easy as "move up/ move down"...or drag to reorder...it should be

Rhino Plugins: VisualArq - Architectural Tools for Rhino

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:35 GMT

Need some ACA like tools when using Rhino? This might be the Plugin you are looking for.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
Rhino is a great modeling software, but you will agree with me that when it comes to simple tasks like creating Walls, windows, Stairs, etc. it is not as efficient as AutoCAD Architecture or SketchUp (specially if you have the 1001bit tools Plugin).
Well that might change if you add to your set of Plugins the VisualArq set of Architectural Tools. This set of tools aims to improve the work speed for Arquitects, Interior Designers, Etc by adding a set of Parametric Architectural Objects and Documentation Tools.
I haven't had the chance to check it since I only have access to Rhino at work, but from the Gallery on the VisualArq website, the Plugin looks promising.
You will need Rhino's Service Release 5 to be able to use this plugin.

SketchUp Plugins: Loft

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:44 GMT

The Loft operation is very common in 3D softwares. Now SketchUp has a Plugin to do it too.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
Chris Fullmer has programmed a Ruby Script to be able to do the common Loft Operation (creating a surface from too Curves). It is not yet a final release of the Plugin and it is not 100% precise, but it does the trick and it is very useful and easy to use.
For those who don't know what a Loft operation is, check this couple of images and see how the surfaces on the right were created from the profiles on the left.

Chris has published a video at SCF where you can see the Plugin beeing used. The Link also works to download the Plugin (you need to be registered).

Imported Images and Sheets

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:13 GMT

We often import hand renderings into Revit projects for plotting presentation sets.

I've noticed that when I import an image directly onto a sheet that if the image is even slightly outside of the scope of the titleblock then plots can come out centered incorrectly. The only solution is to place images in a drafting view (or legend view) first... then place the view on your sheet. If the view itself is outside of the scope of the titleblock Revit will plot the sheet fine.

Rescaling the image can also be easier from a drafting view once scale is established. Just change the scale of the view. Rescaling the image by eye on a sheet is less accurate.

Legend views can be placed on multiple sheets but placing these images in a legend view can crowd your project browser so I would stick to drafting views unless you absolutely need the added function of placing the image on multiple sheets like for key plans as an example.

If your image comes in solid black it's most likely a memory issue. You can change the resolution and image size to reduce file size if necessary. Rotating images can also cause them to turn solid black.

Feel free to comment on the subject of importing images if you have anything you want to add.

Customized Revit Families - Revit Content

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:05 GMT

Although I haven't downloaded this content, it looks to be fairly good quality if it all works as advertised. Although for some items they are overmodelling which may potentially cause issues on larger projects with the amount of detail that is being shown. One would hope they have set the models correctly with coarse, medium and fine displays and that the individual family sizes don't exceed 1MB each.

See for yourself.

We create your customized Revit Families - Welcome to Revit Content

Shared via AddThis

2010 EE ProPack Software Now Available!

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:50 GMT

$50 off list price for mentioning this post! EE is happy to announce the release of the 2010 versions of EE ProPack Base, EE ProPack CadManager, and EE ProPack Hydro. Our new low prices for each application is listed below. If you mention this post, you’ll get an additional $50 off the list price. You can learn [...]

Happy Birthday, Canada -- older than most

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:54 GMT

I'm just back from Europe, where 1000-year-old buildings are passe -- and where Germany is celebrating its 60th birthday. No kidding; they're counting the 60 years going back to when a reset button got pressed in 1949. Germany: where everyone...

The AUGI Board of Directors Ballot is OPEN - 2009 Special Election

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:43 GMT

The AUGI 2009 Special Election is underway...

We have four candidates on the slate. Only two seats are open for the Board.

Each candidate should be considered individually. A candidate is elected based on total Yes votes counted. You may vote on all four candidates, but you may only vote Yes on a total of two candidates. The two candidates receiving the largest number of Yes votes will be elected.

The process of narrowing down the number of qualified nominees to the four candidates included on this year's ballot was a difficult one. The candidates that are elected will serve the remainder of a two year period that continues through December, 2010.

We commend all the nominees and candidates for their willingness to serve and be part of this process. Their credentials and dedicated service are one of the reasons that AUGI is such a strong organization. It is through members such as these that we continue to expand the offerings, programs, events, and training to AUGI members.

NOTE: You must have been a member of AUGI for at least 30 days prior to the close of nominations (May 24, 2009) to be able to vote in this year's Board of Directors election.

Your Vote Counts!

Vote Now

Review the Candidates perspectives on the AUGI Board Candidates Discussion Forum

Custom Command Images

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:11 GMT

When upgrading to 2010 you may notice that some of your custom toolbars or ribbon components have lost the images that used to be attached to them. A long time ago, we used to get a smiley face on toolbars if the image could not be found, and a while back we got clouds with a question mark. Personally, I would like to see an animated emotioncon instead. The user could customize what emotion to show.

Anyway, I was talking about the olden days wasn't I? Oh yeah, back in my day the CUI referenced a BMP image that you could customize outside of the CUI interface. With 2010 the image is magically brought into the CUIx file. This is to make it easier to share CUIs without all the questioning clouds. There is a function to export your images as BMPs to what ever location you like, and you can also import images that should be part of the CUI.

You may have used the MEP snaps toolbar and some others in the past that are not going forward into 2010. The fix is to open your new CUI select the question-cloud, choose edit, then pick Import and get the old BMP image you used in a previous version and apply it. Tedious? yes. Time consuming? Yes. But, if you get it all set once, you can now share that CUI file at will and no one will wonder why the clouds have so many questions.

Web 2.0 "4 or 5 Years" Away for AutoCAD

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:38 GMT

In an interview with Steve Evans of CBR, Amar Hanspal (svp platform solutions and emerging business) said, "It’s possible that in four or five years time the Web 2.0 approach will be a much bigger part of the business." He...

(Hyper)link your drawing

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:22 GMT

This is not really a Civil 3D specific tip and this command has been around for several releases, so I thought it needed to be brought back to surface for your consideration. The ability to link drawing objects and blocks to a website is something that is sort of intriguing to me. I happened upon it [...]

AutoCAD Architecture AND Revit?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:19 GMT

Guillermo Melantoni's recent post on AutoCAD AND Revit prompted me to share how AutoCAD Architecture (ACA) can help your Revit work-flow. Yes, you read that right, ACA can help with Revit. I'm not...

Autodesk Labs Graduates Page under construction

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:45 GMT

Today is our third day of vacation, so I can't fix this right now. When a technology or utility graduates from Labs, I create an entry on the Graduates page:

http://labs.autodesk.com/graduates/

Our graduating class for Labs has outgrown the number of items that are displayed on the graduates page. So currently you can't find a complete list of what has graduated. I do maintain a list of what has graduated on:

http://labs.blogs.com/its_alive_in_the_lab/labs-items-by-application.html

but the hyperlinks on my page are intended to go back to the Graduates page. This way you can get information like date added, date graduated, what application the technology or utility worked with, and where you can get more information. Hopefully I can get this fixed when we get back from our vacation.

Dirty Old Architecture Made Beautiful

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:34 GMT

I don't recall where I found this (perhaps The Pregnant Goldfish) but I think this is a good way to market dirty old Architecture; enjoy.

Just a thought or two…

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:47 GMT

Did you know Civil 3D only comes in 32 bit? What a bummer…

A reminder for Next Tues night the 7th! MTSKAUG Meeting will be at 6:30 as usual, don't miss it! Instead of using a laser pointer I will use a left over sparkler!!!

Blogger: slo Arch

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:09 GMT

Check this out when you have some free time.

Tim Alatorre posts to his blog sloArch on a varaiety of subjects including but not limited to Artlantis, Revit, Sketchup, LEED, A.R.E., and other Architecture related subjects.

DWT Format and Drawing Versions

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:21 GMT

It may come as an awful surprise, to find that the DWT format is independent of the DWG format mid-upgrade. This means if you save your template files as a 2010 DWT, older versions won't get it. You may have your options set to save as 2004, but that will not affect DWTs they will remain 2010.

If you find yourself in this situation, the best way I know to set things back (if you have mixed versions being used) is to open the template in 2010 and export it to AutoCAD. Pick the oldest version you need, but I go back to 2004 because it predates most AEC problems you might encounter otherwise. If you don't, you might get the error below when opened or used in older versions.

The Export to AutoCAD command creates a DWG file. You can now rename this file to a DWT in Windows Explorer or use the Save as function to create the new (old) DWT file you need.

I'm not sure any of that made sense.

Everybody Wants to Be, Closer to Free

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:09 GMT

I really consider it a small price to pay, but many people consider the registration requirement to view civil3d.com onerous. I've heard your complaints, believe me. From now on (or at least until I have reason to change,) civil3d.com is the completely free (as in beer) site for all things Civil3d related. You will still [...]

You can now display intersecting (straight) centerlines in AutoCAD MEP 2010

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:00 GMT

Did you know that you can now change the display of centerlines for all round elbows in AutoCAD MEP 2010? The new command is “DisplayStraightCenterlines”

You can independently control the setup for Conduit, Duct and Pipe or set all of them to the same setting.

Centerline display for elbows. Select domain to change setting

[Conduit/Duct/Pipe/All]:

The settings are saved in the drawing so if your company prefers the centerlines on Elbows to show as intersecting make the change in the Templates.

this image shows the different displays of Piping, but all other round elbows will look like this also.

Import X,Y Coordinates from Excel into AutoCAD

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:45 GMT

I am currently on vacation but wanted to share a great AutoCAD Tip from my friend the AutoCAD Trainer Guy Michael Beal. Michael always has great tips and clear instructions in his monthly “Michael’s Corner” available on the web as well as a monthly newsletter.

The following tip is from Michael’s Corner May 2009.

Prerequisite: The X and Y values need to be in a single cell in the format of X,Y for this to work. If X and Y have their own column, you will need to make the necessary adjustments to get them to X,Y format.

Instructions to Create a Drawing with X,Y Coordinates from Excel

In Excel, highlight and Copy the column of X,Y coordinates to be used to generate the drawing.
Open Windows Notepad (Start All ProgramsAccessoriesNotepad).
Before pasting the coordinates, type LINE as the first word in the file (this will launch the Line command when the script is run), then press [Enter].
Now Paste the column of coordinates into the file and you should see something like that shown in the figure.
Close and save the .SCR file (remember where you're saving it).
In AutoCAD, launch the SCRIPT command, then navigate to where you saved your file in the previous step, then select it and click Open. AutoCAD will launch the Line command then, beginning at the first set of coordinates entered, will draw line segments from one point to the next.

You may also want to consider…

Replacing the LINE command with the PLINE command.
Adding the word CLOSE as the last word in the script to have the linework close back to the start point.
Dragging the .SCR file out of Windows Explorer and dropping it into the drawing window.

Do you have an AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture,AutoCAD Mechanical, or AutoCAD MEP you would .like to share with the thousands of readers of this Between the Lines blog? Send me your favorite tips

New BIM Magazine from AUGI

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:21 GMT

Alright, looks like the AEC crowd has a new magazine from AUGI (I believe that, if it does well, they will look into branching out into other disciplines).

We're just starting to use Revit here on my campus, and, coming from the Engineering group, we're interested in MEPFP content mainly, and I'm thrilled to see that the debut issue of "AEC Edge" doesn't just focus on the Architectural industry.
They're talking Architectural models, IPD (integrated project delivery), Training, Implementation, Coordinate Systems, MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing building systems), Structural, Analysis, education and API. Loads of content.

Don't take my word for it, check out the Table of Contents below, then download the current issue (available in the interactive format AND pdf).

Also, please don't forget, TODAY is the last day to participate in the 2009 AUGI Annual Salary Survey! Just 19 short questions, it will take about 5 minutes (there's a link to a currency convertor for any non-US folks who want to participate, I LOVE international participation!), results will be presented in broad categories in AUGIWorld Magazine this fall. If you've already participated, please, feel free to send the link to your colleagues and invite them to take part as well.

AutoCAD: Find those Commands You can't Remember

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:18 GMT

Does it happen to you that you remember a command but not exactly and thus can't tye it properly? AutoCAD will help you with your lack of memory.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
The list of commands we use in AutoCAD is often longer than we can remember. Nevertheless it is more possible that we remember how a command begins but not the rest of it. We'll, AutoCAD can help you find the end of that missing command in your memory.
If you type the first couple or 3 letters of a command, and then press TAB, AutoCAD will cycle through all the commands that begin with those letters. Keep pressing TAB till you find the command you had forgotten.
It is actually a good way to discover new commands too. By looking a forgotten one you might stumble upon a very useful command you didn't even know that it existed.

Adobe Employees Get 3 Xtra Weeks Vacation

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:59 GMT

The factory lines at Adobe are quiet this week, as employees are forced ["forced"? In the summer time? -Ed.] to take three weeks of unpaid vacation to help the company's leaders cut expenses. The latest monster release of Creative Suite...

Example Analytics from It's Alive in the Lab

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:45 GMT

Today is our second day of vacation. Yesterday I mentioned how we beefed up our analytics for Project Showroom release 1.0.20. We want to answer some usage questions more precisely. When I look at some of the analytic results for It's Alive in the Lab for this month, I see some interesting data.

There were over 15,000 visits that used 64 languages. As the blog is written in English, English was by far the most popular.
These visits came from 128 countries/territories with the United States being the most popular.
By a giant majority, It's Alive in the Lab made a lot of new friends this month.
Internet Explorer and Firefox are the most popular choices used by It's Alive in the Lab visitors:
Windows is the preferred choice for operating system:
Screen resolutions are fairly well distributed:

Data like this for Project Showroom will certainly be pertinent to Project Showroom in that time to render a room photorealistically is related to the number of pixels.

Project Showroom has collected metrics from its onset. Build 1.0.20 improved its precision. As you can see from the data collected for this blog, metrics like this can help shape how software as a service applications are developed.

____(1)fest 2009

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:06 GMT

____ing (2) in a ____ (3)can? Better than that!!!

First off to Virginia Gardiner, the Designer of the Loowatt, I apologize for the low-brow nature of this post; It's really ____y(4) of me...

I truly respect and advocate this kind of work. I am impressed and inspired by your expression of great creativity!!!

I just couldn't help myself.

Besides the articles and videos I linked to are so good on their own that anything additionally written should (I thought) be completely distinct.

That said I have to go (on). (5)

If you never have, already have or ever do plan on using a toilet then these articles will truly inspire -and if you have never used a toilet and yet are reading this please reply back and tell us how it is to have internet connectivity and yet have no toilet... really; I know there are some of you out there.

I am really trying to hold it in (6)... no, no, no (7), you know, all the ____(8) humor, uhh sorry... ____(9) humor... this ____(10) is no joking matter!!!

The Waste Opportunity (NOT wasted)!!!

The crapper reinvented Thanks also to Thomas!!!???

Made from ____(11) and ____(12) made into it and into energy too (all ____(13) puns intended ;-) after all)

Oh ____(14); ____(15) is no longer a dirty word YAAY!!! one down, six to go!!! See the more complete videos here...Part 1 and here, Part 2 and here Part 3. I am sure those who posted these all got legal clearances too!!! If not they are really up ____(16) creek with no paddles...

Finally perhaps we can tell Matt & Trey that (__)__'s(17) ok to say again!!! well I only came up with 17, not 162...

Ask DailyAutoCAD: Which Notebook to Buy?

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:56 GMT

Here in DailyAutoCAD, a most frequent question that comes from readers asks about our notebook reccomendations and advices. The world is becoming increasingly mobile and manufacturers are speeding up this process by continuosly bringing the prices down. Before I list my suggestions, I have to state that my personal choice is a dektop PC with a [...]

Convert Multiple Block DWGs into one Tool Palette with the DesignCenter

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:59 GMT

In my opinion, Tool Palettes are the best feature to come out of AutoCAD since Xrefs. Tool Palettes are so powerful and a huge time saver when configured properly but how to do this, and fast? The are many different...

AUGI Special Election – voting opens

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:31 GMT

The AUGI Special Election voting page is now live, and will be open until 12 July 2009. I encourage all AUGI members to carefully consider the candidates and participate in the electoral process.

I do not like some of the restrictions that have been placed on this election, but it is the first real election (i.e. with a choice of candidates) that AUGI has had for several years, so please make it a success by taking part.

SketchUp Books: The Missing Manual

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:36 GMT

Another Manual to learn SketchUp.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
If you are looking for a cheap Book to learn SketchUp this might be the one you are looking for. Priced at only $24 dollars, it seems a good choice for those starting with SketchUp who prefer to work with a Manual near the computer.
The Missing Manual offers a good insight on SU's interface, it gives some tips on what the program is best for and has a detailed Index of Menu Entries for reference.
Remember that there is plenty of information about the Program for free on the internet, but if you prefer to learn with a manual to back you up, maybe you want to give this a try.

or or

If you want to check other Books about SketchUp, you can go to the SketchUp section of the CAD Addict Bookshelf.

AutoCAD: Control How You Mirror Texts

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:17 GMT

Do you want to Mirror Text but AutoCAD keeps it the same way? There is a system variable for that.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
The System Variable MIRRTEXT controls how texts are mirrored. The default Value 0, mirrors the location of the texts, but it does not actually mirrors their orientation. If you set the value of MIRRTEXT to 1, then you will be able to Mirror the Text or Mtext as if it was any other object, Block, etc. Chek the image below. First is a text mirrored with the MIRRTEXT system variable set to 0, the second one has the variable set to 1.

MechQ Offer - Expires in a few days....

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:26 GMT

Only a few days left to purchase any Mech-Q Module and receive a second module FREE (of equal or lesser value). To take advantage of

Disconnect Markers

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:52 GMT

If you are like me, (and I trust that most of you are not), you don't really rely on disconnect markers in AutoCAD MEP that much. So image my surprise when I noticed the new disconnect markers with no real idea what they were. See the image below with the new markers on the left and the old on the right.

I may be even dumber if indeed these showed up in 2009 which I skipped. If you have not upgraded past 2008, I thought I would mention it, so when you did see the new ones, you will look so very smart and get a big raise.

Use the Shift key as a shortcut

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:25 GMT

You can use the Shift key in AutoCAD in many ways to help make your AutoCAD tasks easier and quicker:

Read all of the Shift shortcuts...

Xref, Dref, and Plotting

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:08 GMT

With C3D, it is an ongoing evolution on what to xref into your plot sheets and when to reference data into your plot sheets. It has been awhile since anything was posted about this so I thought I would share what seems to work the best. First, I will throw a disclaimer in that each [...]

McEleney Cloudy CEO

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:02 GMT

Former SolidWorks ceo John McEleney is appointed ceo and president of CloudSwitch. The year-old company is raising money and writing software to let companies use cloud computing without worrying about lock-in. Source.

Layer Search

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:35 GMT

Do you ever find yourself in the situation where you are searching for a layer to control?

Sha-yeah.

It can be like finding a needle in a stack of needle shaped hay. Give this a shot next time. Tucked away in the upper right-hand corner of the Layer Properties palette is the layer search tool.

You can use a combination of characters and wild-cards (the asterisk represents any group of characters and the question mark represents any single character) to find just about any layer quick and easy. Say you are looking for a specific wall layer. type *wall* in the search box and hit your enter key, now the only layers listed have the word wall in them. Nice.

New version of SI Xchange for Autodesk Revit Structure 2010 and STAAD.Pro

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:00 GMT

Structural Integrators, LLC has released the new version of SI Xchange for Autodesk Revit Structure and STAAD.Pro. The Link for Revit Structure 2009 release was ready about a month ago and they just posted the 2010 release couple of days ago.

This version includes a number of enhancements, including sending walls, load cases, load combos, point and line loads to STAAD.Pro, bringing size changes back from STAAD and it now works even if STAAD and Revit are installed on different computers.

For more information: http://structuralintegrators.com/products/si_xchange.php

Thanks,

Wai

Project Showroom 1.0.20 Now Available

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:45 GMT

We're on vacation this week.

Today is the first day of our company-wide vacation, so I will be brief. On Friday we released Project Showroom 1.0.20. Recall that Project Showroomis our software as a service approach to kitchen and bathroom design software. You just use your browser to configure a room with items you can actually purchase. Project Showroom uses a bank of computers in the cloud to show you what your choices look like by rendering the room photorealistcally. If you did this yourself on one computer, it would take minutes. With a bank of computers, it takes seconds. Project Showroom is in the technology preview stage, but you get the idea.

Whereas Project Showroom 1.0.19 had some dramatic UI improvements, release 1.0.20 is really "under the hood." Many of you have provided direct feedback to us at labs.showroom@autodesk.com with your thoughts on Project Showroom. We appreciate that. Release 1.0.19 is more about indirect feedback. We have improved our metrics gathering. So that our efforts have not gone to waste, please visit Project Showroom today and take it for a spin:

http://showroom.labs.autodesk.com/

It would be great to see if we can get visits from 6 of the 7 continents. Actually if someone visits from Antarctica, maybe we should send him/her some sort of prize. I am also curious as to what operating systems and browsers people are using. These metrics will help shape the future of Project Showroom. If you would also like to see what an integration of Project Showroom into a manufacturer site might look like, here is a mock-up we did for the K/BIS show in Atlanta for Jenn-Air:

http://jennair.showroom.labs.autodesk.com/

Getting even more analytical is alive in the lab.

Moving Forward Means Change

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:40 GMT

It is a fact – your company is either moving forward or backward. It is also a fact that moving forward means change. Some of us make a living off change – such as the revolutionary changes in Civil software over the past 5 years. You may have noticed some changes as James begins Raider Consulting, [...]

Future of CAD Journalism in Good Hands

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:27 GMT

Next year I'll have been working on the editorial side of computer-aided design for 25 years. (Sept 1985 was my first month at CADalyst magazine.) In those two-and-a-half decades, the CAD publishing industry exploded, particularly in the area of AutoCAD....

More Revit Components

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:46 GMT

Do you get the idea that Sketchup will actually be eclipsed by Revit for "Design" even by those who think life should be dumb and simple and inaccurate? Uhhh I mean those who use SKP.

Whether for better or not SKP is in most every Architect's hands and still has the perception (and to some degree reality) of usefulness due to the ease of creating those dumb, simple and inaccurate objects (and don't get me started on SKP adding parametrics... That does not make it BIM!!!).

Well, if you still find some people with reticence to fully use Revit because it's "too hard" to learn, or whatever -Boo Hoo- hey didn't they (almost) all go to University? or was that just an excuse for a prolonged Kegger?

But I digress; you may have begun to feel major recognition of the AEC industries' growing adoption of BIM; predominantly through the use of the Revit Platform; a shift in the industry punctuated by the exploding amount of content being created these days from Mfg's and more...

With that in mind here's another nice compilation of Revit Families FOR US and THEM . I like the links section too; though they could have linked to this blog ;-)!!!

How to Prevent Command Dialog Boxes to Appear?

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:45 GMT

Hello Daily AutoCAD readers, Sometimes, we may want for the dialog boxes that appear when the commands are executed not to appear. In such cases, we can use system variables FILEDIA and CMDDIA to prevent file and command dialog boxes from appearing. However, due to the fact that this will affect the commands, this may be [...]

Need Help Identifying A Painting? Revit3D.com to the rescue...

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:08 GMT

"Corps à corps bleu" by Gerard-Fromangert

Isn't technology a beautiful thing? Isn't the community we have formed using a the internet like a family? In response to my posting Need Help Identifying a Painting, I received this email from Gregory Arkin who mans the Revit3D.com blog.

Dear Scott:

I always love a challenge, so after failing at Google image searching for words like silhouette, bicycle, Paris, artwork, etc. for a very long while (thank goodness for Firefox autopager), I decided to go a different route. Instead of searching for the image using Google, I used Google to search for a tool that would be of assistance. I Googled "upload image search," found a website called TinEye.com, uploaded your image, and came up with five results within 15 seconds:

http://tineye.com/search/a35254b1e5003017472218a4e6bbf53e3801aa87

None of the results were very helpful, and one was a non-existent website, but alas, one did return a clue. The file name had "Gerard-Fromangert" in the name. A little more research uncovered http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Fromanger and there you have it.

"Corps à corps bleu" is the name of the piece of art and it was housed at Paris-Sienne (2003-2006) Centre Beaubourg, Paris

I am not having so much luck finding the availability of reprints, but I'll keep looking. I hope I'm the first to come up with the information for you. It was well worth the effort for the appreciation I have of all you've done in "The Lab." Keep up the great work. I love what you guys are doing.

Good luck finding a copy for your daughter.
Gregory

Thanks Gregory! As this is the kind of investigatory work that Gregory does, you Revit users should check out Revit3D.com to garner the tips and tricks Gregory has unearthed. I'm sure you'll be as grateful as I am.

Appreciating the help from our Labs family is alive in the Lab.

The Essential Reader: It's Not News

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:05 GMT

It's Not News, It's Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass Off C*** as News by Drew Curtis My first experience with botched reporting came when the apartment complex we were living in had a toaster-induced fire in one of...

MindManager Vs Nvidia, I win!

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:06 GMT

MindManager's Presentation Mode has a "Transparent Fade Out" option (seen right). This adds a, sometimes too subtle, fade effect to the unselected branches to focus on the selected topic. After installing a graphic driver update it started going crazy, with...

Compound Walls - How Much?

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:00 GMT

While attending a Revit user group meeting a month or two ago someone mentioned that they prefer to use generic walls to keep their model size (file size) down. It seems reasonable that a compound wall might carry a bit heavier burden on a model but how much more of a burden? The poor scientist that I am I tried the following.
I saved an "empty" template file with no walls placed which resulted in a file of 2076 kb (used Default.rte, the stock Revit template). I then created 19 walls, 4 exterior and 15 interior walls using Generic 12" and 6" respectively. When I saved this file it was 2216 kb. Then I created another but used compound walls (Exterior - Brick and CMU on Mtl. Stud and Interior 5-1/2" Partition(1 hr)) instead with a resulting file size of 2452 kb for an increase or difference of 236 kb. I used the exterior wall type because it is more than just a wall with extra layers, it has embedded sweeps and reveals which should account for some of the difference as well.

A small number of walls. I thought I'd use more this time. I created another pile of walls for a total of 152. This is the result.

The generic walls file came in at 3184 kb and the compound version came in at 4092 for a difference of 908 kb. Here's a spreadsheet breakdown for you "column and row" types.

It seems to me that this means that modelling walls in bulk results in less cost (in kilobytes) per wall. The more walls the more economical their impact is. Not that more walls doesn't mean more...just not a literal 1:1 file size relationship. It also means that compound walls do have a "heavier" impact on the project file size too.

Since I increased the number of walls by eight (8) times I was curious to see if the kilobyte increase was literally eight (8) times as well. The How Close? column in the spreadsheet shows that the generic walls were nearly so but the compound walls were a bit more economical when the quantity increased, just a little over five (5) times as many kilobytes.

To make it more interesting we could edit the profile of walls, attach walls to roofs, embed curtain walls, disallow joins, add views to sheets using different Detail Level settings, place various hosted elements on/in walls, use the Opening Tools, compare curved versus straight impact...and on and on.

Do I have a point? Well...file size isn't really the only measure of a project's performance nor is it even really reliable to use to predict project performance. I've seen rather large projects that perform quite well apart from waiting for it to open initially. Conversely I've seen "small" projects that perform poorly. My interpretation of my results is that I shouldn't really need to worry about using generic walls only, at least not using just file size as a measure. Much more likely that how the walls interact with other elements in the project will affect performance more than just file size.

New Build - Not Available Just Yet

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:49 GMT

Last evening I read on Twitter two separate "tweets" about an hour apart and a bit later on a blog post that the update for Revit 2010 is now available. Great to see one is coming and the list of issues/items addressed shared too. Unfortunately it isn't actually available yet though, not for another week or so according to my sources. I'll post the information on the update once it is released.

In the meantime if you want to read the list of issues addressed you can read it HERE.

Hang in there...just a bit longer. Maybe it'll get posted sooner because of the early release of information?

Sirince – IZMIR

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:00 GMT

Hello, I visited Sirince (pron. as Sherinja) at the begining of June. Sirince is an old Greek village located at the east of Izmir, Turkey. This village is also very close to Ephesus and The House of Virgin Mary (Seldjuk). I have stayed in a classic Sirince house for one night and I had a chance [...]

Request for Help Identifying a Painting

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:03 GMT

A few semesters ago our daughter studied abroad in France with the ASU honors program. While visiting a museum in Paris, she took a picture of a painting she really liked. I was going to surprise her and try to get a reprint of it, but I do not know the artist nor the name. Can anyone identify it? Please send information to scott.sheppard@autodesk.com. Thanks so much.

e0434f4dh Exception at 7c812aebh - Crash AutoCAD MEP

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:57 GMT

Me: "Knock Knock, You say who's there?"

You: "Uh.. Who's there?"

Me: "Control Freak, You say control freak who?"

Yeah, I can' help myself. I want to lock everything down. You know, for every one's own good, but also because I like it my way. I ran into a bit of a downer with AutoCAD MEP 2010 because of my controlling nature. I placed the enterprise cuix menu on a read only drive. Turns out there is a bug in this version which means if you attempt to do just about anything with a read only enterprise cui the program will just crash with the error shown in the title of the article. Funny thing is, this did not happen to all of my users. However, moving the enterprise back to a read/write location folder did fix all of my problems. I chose to just access the cuix in the docs and settings folder of each user because if they do jack something up, they will only hurt themselves.

I have to go breath in a paper bag for a bit now and learn to let go.

Filter Unplaced or Unenclosed Items

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:06 GMT

Every once in a while I discover something I didn't know was there. It appears this feature was added in Revit 2009.

After you've created a Room or Area Schedule and populated it with rooms/areas you have the option of filtering unplaced or unenclosed Rooms/Areas. The three options are: Show all, Hide unplaced, and Isolate unplaced.

HVAC Tool for AutoCAD

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:44 GMT

Just added to our mechanical and HVAC software section is SDUCT. SDUCT is an easy to install AutoCAD add-on which allows you to quickly create

Role Reversal: eBook Becomes Print Book

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:20 GMT

AutoCAD 2010 Update Guide: What's Inside? by Ralph Grabowski Since 2003, I've been producing an annual What's Inside? AutoCAD ebook that details new and changed features in the latest release of AutoCAD. Autodesk Press liked what they saw, because their...

Autodesk Shutdown for US Employees Next Week

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00 GMT

Taking some vcation time in 2009

Autodesk is observing a company shutdown next week. All United States employees will take the week off with our vacation time. So although it may seem like something's amiss with the RSS feed for this blog, it really just us relaxing. And if you don't get an immediate response to your feedback request like you normally do, fear not, we'll reply as soon as we get back. We will return ready for action. We do have Project Cooper and other technologies on deck.

Tweet Tweet: Twit or Twitter?

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:45 GMT

So I broke down and Twitted myself up. You can follow HERE, (or click the painting of the hand on the sidebar) if you like; I did and it's free...
Well truthfully, I am not following myself and really there will be costs to Twits everywhere!!!

More Twit Links:

The Python Folks

Twit TV

Miriam Webster's views

Python Scriptz

Pregnant Goldfish -Well, somewhere on this blog the word 'twit' comes up... like the main title.

Finally (I am over finding interesting twit sites for now) anyways, as I said; finally I searched for 'BIM and twits' and found among the throngs the following page (notice the $ amount of their services... yikes!!!) and then ask where the work is going... or not??? BIM services (from India)at affordable (I'd say ridiculous) rates (USD $10 to $15/hr) include: • 3D modeling • BIM • MEP • HVAC

AUGI Salary Survey – last few days

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:13 GMT

The annual AUGI Salary Survey (ably run by friend and fellow geek/blogger Melanie Perry) is open for your responses until 30 June, so if you're planning to fill it in, please get in soon. There are 19 simple questions on one page, and it only takes a couple of minutes. If you have questions about the survey, read the FAQ.

In these troubled times, many of you may find the previous years' results a valuable resource.

MIRROR Command

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:40 GMT

One of AutoCAD's most useful commands is MIRROR. It's used to create a mirrored (flipped) copy of objects. Let's see how the command does its thing: Figure 1 You can access the command from the ‘Modify' tab in the ribbon menu or enter the command using MI or MIRROR in the command prompt. Command:_MIRROR Select objects: 1 found Select objects: Once [...]

AutoCAD Map 3D 2010 Help

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:07 GMT

Web-Based Civil 3D Documentation

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:02 GMT

I do not know how long this has been available but the entire set of Civil 3D 2010 documentation is available in a web-based version (not as pdf's which are here).

This means that web searches should include this information.

Be Better! ...offer choices.

Heating and Cooling Loads in Autodesk Revit MEP 2010: Building Service Type

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:00 GMT

If you’ve been calculating heating and cooling loads in Revit MEP 2010, you may have wondered how the new Building Service parameter affects the analysis.

Heating and cooling load calculations are affected by variables that are extrapolated from the Building Service type. The most important variable is the Calculation Type, which is set to either Constant Volume, Variable Air Volume, or Radiant.

Most of the building service types are Constant Air Volume or Radiant (almost the same). The Variable Air Volume types include the acronym “VAV” in their naming convention.

There are also smaller characteristics determined by the service type, such as whether Use Reheat or the Fan Configuration (Blow Through or Draw Through) is used. These inputs help determine some of the zone-specific loads. Currently all of the service types use draw-through as the fan configuration.

The following table indicates the Building Service type variables that affect the heating/cooling load calculations.

Building Service Type Variables

Building Service Type

Calculation Type

Fan Configuration

Constant Air Volume

Variable Air Volume

Radiant

Use Reheat

Blow Through

Draw Through

Central Heating: Radiators

Central Heating: Convectors

Central Heating: Radiant Floor

Central Heating: Hot Water

Web-Based Map 3D Documentation

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:33 GMT

Previously, we have been able to get to on-line pdf versions of the Map 3D Documentation. just like we can get to on-line pdf versions of the Civil 3D Documentation.

But now we can get to web-based versions of the Map 3D Documentation. For some this may be an easier way to read this information. More importantly, this means that web searches will include this information.

I highly recommend that you specifically look at "GIS Skills for Engineers" (the bottom most book). This documentation set contains animations (the "Show me how to..." links). These can be very helpful.

Do not forget that we can get to two version of the Map ribbons by changing our workspace to either:

Tool-based Geospatial
Task-based Geospatial

Be Better! ...give options.

Inventor Fusion Is Finally Out, But...

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:37 GMT

...it is not what they say it is. At least, not yet. All that marketing talk about "uniting direct and parametric workflows" is just that - talk. Inventor Fusion Technology Preview 1 is just a preview of the direct modeling workflow and has nothing related to the history side of things. And this is precisely how the brains at Autodesk Marketing appear to have planned it. According to the Autodesk press release, the "technology preview is the first step in delivering the full vision of Inventor Fusion". So instead of releasing their "full vision", Autodesk intends to dish it out in installments, thereby dragging this issue for as long as they possibly can. I am not sure whether this approach is designed get people like me to write about Fusion as much as possible, although it certainly looks that way. Frankly, after all that noise, I don't think so the world is interested in seeing part of their vision, especially the part which just about every other CAD vendor has already implemented.

Don't get me wrong. I have been playing around with Fusion for the past three weeks now and its direct modeling capabilities are great. But truth be told, Direct Modeling has ceased to amaze me, especially after seeing what SpaceClaim, Synchronous Technolgy and the other CAD systems that came before them can do. What will amaze me is the "fusion" part. The part where Inventor Fusion will let me open a history based model, let me thrash it around and then let me save it back to a history based model. This will be part of Technology Preview 2, which is due to be released late summer.

Kevin Schneider, Product Manager, Manufacturing Emerging Products and Technologies at Autodesk, could not be more explicit when he told me exactly what Fusion will eventually be able to do:

"[Technology Preview 2] will allow history free edits made in Fusion on Inventor native data to be read back into Inventor and converted into features. And this is not tweak features at the end of the tree. The changes will be to the source features. This allow users to make traditional parametric edits to their Inventor data using Inventor or use Fusion to make history free edits to the same data and then have those edits be converted automatically as parametric feature edits if they need them. This is truly giving customers the best of booth."

Usually companies spend years on a new technology using code names and shrouded in secrecy. Then when they are ready they go ahead and make a big splash. Someone at Autodesk decided to do exactly the opposite.

This is more like a strip tease and I am pissed because I am not yet feeling horny. Wake me up when she's about to take it all off.

Autodesk Support in the Sidebar

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:51 GMT

I've added a new widget over there that will give you the last three docs from Autodesk's Support Feed. Mine is tweaked for Civil, so if you like it, grab it for your own feed reader using the RSS icon to the left of the text. There are new things coming out every day regarding [...]

Revit Structure 2010 Slanted Column Parameters

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:00 GMT

Slanted columns are becoming more and more common in larger high-profile structures. The architectural forms that engineers are being required to support are getting more complex.

Engineers and drafters can now create slanted columns using the same column families they have used for vertical columns, which include not only physical characteristics, but also analytical as well.

The avi: http://revit.downloads.autodesk.com/download/Structure2010/Blog/Slanted Columns Parameters.avi will demonstrate how to utilize the tool and explain the parameters within the element properties to show how they will affect the location of the slanted columns to the supported members.

These new Slanted Column properties include the following:

- Column style parameter

Slanted – Angle Driven
Slanted – End Point Driven

- Column Cutback

Beam/Column Joins editor

- Column Joins parameters

Top/Base Attachment Type
Top/Base Attachment Distance
Top/Base Attachment Referenced End
Top Geometry Treatment
Base Geometry Treatment
Offset From Attachment at Base
Offset From Attachment At Top

- Column Attachments parameter

Move Top With Grids
Move Base With Grids

- Cross Section Rotation parameter

I Love My Company But...

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:47 GMT

...maybe not this much.

The Magic of COFES

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:06 GMT

As I was asking the bartender for a beer at the Scottsdale Plaza during COFES 2009, so was another person. We shook hands, introduced ourselves to each other and began a conversation, which then spilled over to another beer.

This person was Francis Cadin, the CEO of DATAKIT, a French CAD software company that specializes in data exchange software. Technically, DATAKIT and SYCODE are business rivals because we have have a few products that overlap. So needless to say, Francis and I, knew quite a bit about each others companies, but we knew absolutely nothing about each other. However, a warm handshake followed by a couple of beers had changed all that. We really enjoyed our conversation, at the end of which, we exchanged business cards and decided to stay in touch.

And stay in touch we did. So much so that today DATAKIT and SYCODE issued a joint press release announcing a collaboration to offer hi-end Data Exchange solutions. DATAKIT's strength lies in their ability to read and write native file formats like CATIA, Pro/ENGINEER, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Inventor, etc. whereas SYCODE's strength lies in developing plug-ins for a wide range of CAD systems. DATAKIT also developing plug-ins, but not for as wide a range of CAD system like SYCODE and SYCODE also has the ability to read and write native file formats, but not as wide a range as DATAKIT. So by simply adding the two together we will now be able to offer hi-end native file format import and export plug-ins for almost all the major CAD systems.

Its a win-win situation for everyone - DATAKIT, SYCODE and our customers. Funny thing is that this kind of a partnership never struck either of us in all these years. Its a wonder what a couple of beers and the right kind of atmosphere can do to business rivals.

And that, precisely, is the magic of COFES.

YouTube Project Showroom Overview Video

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00 GMT

Electrolux kitchen appliances with Behr wall paint

Electrolux kitchen appliances with a different Behr wall paint

Project Showroom is a technology preview that establishes a vision for a service for home furnishing suppliers to enable their customers to visualize their products in real-life room settings. It is our software as a service approach to kitchen design software and bathroom design software. The basis of Project Showroom is photorealistic rendering using a farm of computers that are "in the cloud." Accessibility to numerous computers in the cloud makes solutions like Project Showroom practical. Typical consumers would never buy 120 computers just to see a synthetic photograph rendered in 8 seconds. Normally users have one computer and wait 960 seconds (16 minutes). On the other hand, manufacturers might be willing to rent 120 computers for 8 seconds. Eight seconds later, it could be another user's turn. You get the idea.

A tenant of Project Showroom is photorealism. Consumers and manufacturers have to get the sense that they are experiencing something before it is real. The products are real. The manufacturers are real. The computer rendering looks real. Our Product Manager, Noah Kennedy, was keen to point out how blue wall paint reflections appear on white cabinets in his YouTube video:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i15PcjMGLqo
non-YouTube: showroom_overview.mp4 (5957.0K)

The video also features a demonstration we participated in with Jenn-Air at the Kitchen/Bathroom Industry Show in Atlanta.

Keeping it real is alive in the Lab.

MapInfo Pro 10 gets a new User Interface

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:50 GMT

This is rare these days. A new CAD interface, a claimed dramatic increase in user efficiency, but not a ribbon in sight! The New Face of MapInfo Professional v10.0 is Here! We are very excited to share the new face...

The True Windows Tax

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:38 GMT

The Windows tax usually refers to the higher price that computers cost because of the amount we unknowingly pay for the Windows license. With computers being so cheap these days, we tend to not care; the higher Windows-induced price tends...

Exercise: Drawing a Roof Using Surfaces

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:24 GMT

We're going to draw a ridged roof onto the frame seen in the figure. In this example, the slope of the roof has been calculated and the necessary heights have been determined.[We'll be assuming that the user knows basic 3D and UCS topics] Fig.1 Run the Rectangle command. Specify the first corner point. Type 10,10 from the command line [...]

iPhone App - Revit Keys

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:00 GMT

My son found this one tonight and rushed downstairs to let me know about it. From the Apple apps site:

REVITkeys is a list of 260 keyboard combinations for AutoDesk Revit Architecture 2010. Arranged in 14 categories for easy access this tool makes it easy to find the keyboard combination you are looking for or learn new ones. Utilizing REVITkeys for Revit Architecture will speed up your work and help you learn new skills.

Categories include: Project, Model Family Editor, Profile Family Editor, Truss Family Editor, Rebar Family Editor, Mass Family Editor, Conceptual Mass Editor, Detail Family Editor, Contextual Tab, Snap Overrides, View Control Bar, Context Menu, Navigation Bar, and Alternates with Closer Keys

It isn't free, nearly so...just 0.99 cents until it gets wildly popular. I didn't try it out myself yet because my phone is still downloading the latest update.

John Hodgman roasts President Obama

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:45 GMT

John Hodgman, known best as the PC in the "I'm a Mac" commercials and ads, spoke to Radio and Television Correspondents Association Dinner about nerds, Trekkies, and President Obama's favorite "name-brand smartphone [he] shall not name, for contractural reasons."

Personally I feel releaved that President Obama pushed to use technology. The obvious name-brand smartphone John Hodgman was not able to elaborate on due to contractual reasons is the Blackberry that Obama pushed to continue using after becoming President. It's true that this type of request has not been traditional in the past, it can only force better security techologies to be implemented. I think this type of push drives improvements in security technology that will eventually make its way into public use.

Watch John Hodgman roast Obama and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

Autodesk Green Building Studio Needs Your Help

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:01 GMT

We are conducting 1.5 hour usability sessions in July over the phone in order to gather user feedback.

We are looking for Mechanical Engineers focusing on HVAC and Energy Analysts to participate. This is an opportunity to make a great impact on the user experience of Green Building Studio and we welcome your company’s participation.

If you participate you will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

Complete our quick survey to sign up: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx

Thank you.

AEC EDGE Magazine

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:43 GMT

AUGI has published their first quarterly AEC EDGE Magazine. This has been report on several blogs already but I really enjoyed it so I thought I'd post too.

Inventor Fusion technology is now avaialable!

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:14 GMT

So, you're looking for a way to quickly model a component you have an idea for but you don't know enough about how the component will need to be modified to use Inventor? You'd like to be able to just...

AUGI Launches New Publication - AUGI AEC Edge

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:18 GMT

AUGI and Extension Media are excited to announce AUGI AEC Edge - A new publication launched today that is focused on the AEC industry.

AUGI AEC Edge is dedicated to providing cutting edge industry information and useful tips on all aspects of Autodesk's digital design software necessary for accurate project design, visualization and analysis. This valuable information will enable readers to deliver their projects faster, with greater accuracy, creativity and with reduced environmental impact.

The Premiere issue of AUGI AEC Edge will focus on exciting developments in the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process and Revit solutions with features articles, news, and contributions from industry leaders.

Who might want to read this new publication?

The long term readers are those in the AEC industry. Premiere issue readers are those who are interested in increasing their knowledge of BIM and BIM Processes. Every level of professional, beginner, intermediate and advanced, will take away something. The content will be relevant to firms of all sizes, and will be particularly timely to architecture, structural, mechanical, civil, and others.

AUGI AEC Edge speaks to the pulse of the AEC world because AUGI collectively produces best practices and shares them. Nowhere else will you find the articles with the breadth of knowledge, depth of industry understanding, and a "get the job done" attitude. Through years of collective experience on a vast array of project types, our authors have developed the technical knowledge and peer to peer wisdom that only comes from AUGI's open forum manner of discussions. These discussions, experiences and perspectives are distilled down to practical articles by contributing authors that are well known industry experts.

The Premier issue will be distributed in digital formats and will be promoted on the AUGI website and on Extension Media.

To see the Premiere issue go to: http://www.augiaecedge.com

Inventor Fusion Technology Preview Now Available

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:59 GMT

Fuse history-based modeling and direct editing like colors in a rainbow

The Autodesk Inventor Fusion Technology Preview allows you to combine parametric modeling with direct model editing. It's the best of both worlds. Based on your location, you can find out for yourself by taking a test drive:

Autodesk Labs Inventor Fusion Technology Preview Free Download

As we did with the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview, to ensure the best experience for those participating, the technology preview is limited to the following geographical locations: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States. We hope to expand to other locations in the future. Try it and let us know what you think: labs.fusion@autodesk.com. You have until January 1, 2010 to do so - that's when the executable for the technology preview expires. You can get started by watching some videos on YouTube (or its alternative for locations where YouTube access in unavailable):

YouTube	non-YouTube alternative

At this point in the technology preview, having Autodesk Inventor 2010 and the Autodesk Inventor Fusion Technology Preview on your system lets you experience the best of both worlds. Exploring new ways to design mechanical parts and assemblies is alive in the lab.

New Autodesk Beta Website

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:21 GMT

New and exciting changes have been introduced to Autodesk’s Beta Program where we invite customers to test and provide feedback on pre—release product so that we ship the highest quality of product possible.

The Autodesk MyFeedback Beta platform was retired by May 31st, 2009 at which point the new Autodesk Community officially came to life at http://beta.autodesk.com.

Autodesk beta participation has grown considerably since we started our online beta communities in 1999. I joined Autodesk in 1998 on the Beta Team back when we still shipped CD and printed guides. I had been an Autodesk customer and involved in multiple Autodesk betas. I knew I could make a difference for customers and loved a good challenge. We went from a small email lists and doing a couple products to well over 30,000 participants in over 140 countries using over 60 Autodesk products. It is time to upsize again to a new Autodesk Beta Community.

Make sure to sign up for the new Autodesk Feedback Community site before the busy beta release season in the fall. The sign up takes only a few minutes to enter the information about your Autodesk product use and hardware you intend to use to test the pre-release beta software. We need you to provide the critical customer feedback which is vital to shape the future of all Autodesk products.

http://beta.autodesk.com –> New User Signup

Cheers,
Shaan

SpaceClaim to Autodesk: Bring It On!

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:56 GMT

Well, SpaceClaim doesn't directly address Autodesk in its Direct Modeling Challenge -- Bring it on! email blast of today. But the coincidence is uncanny: the same morning Autodesk announces general availability of Inventor Fusion TP1 [tech preview #1], the challenge...

typetext

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:29 GMT

In older versions of AutoCAD when adding sheets to be published you could specify to only import the layout tabs and leave model space out of it directly in the publish dialog (see image below).

To do the same in AutoCAD 2010 you must first select the sheets button (see image below).

Then see the "Include" drop down menu to only add layouts (yet another image below).

Autodesk Assists Customers Garner Stimulus Dollars

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:01 GMT

"Federal stimulus dollars are putting Americans back to work on the nation's highways, but companies behind the scenes are reaping rewards as well.

At Autodesk's Manchester, New Hampshire, office, engineers are hard at work on simulations for shovel ready projects, thanks to the money states now have for infrastructure improvements through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."

The complete article and an accompanying video are available for viewing here.

Thank you.

Cadopolis Selected Feeds

Concrete Beam Hidden Line Display Parameter

Happy Fourth of July

More Punishment for Siemens

My new car, was $617,000, now only...

Exercise: Drawing a 3D Roof Using Profiles

SketchUp Plugins: Google's Ruby Scripts

Dynamite VSP 4.0

Surveyors – Get Connected

Virtual Memory

New RDB Link Tool for Revit Family

Experiment with Rendered Lighting in AutoCAD 2010

Craig Venter shows Richard Dawkins around The Institute for Genomic Research

I Thought You Might Like A CAD Application Like This

Use Task-Appropriate Tools

MailWasher, a work in progress update

Hip Tip: Aligning Text Using Quick Properties.

AUGI 2009 Special Election is underway - please vote!

"Quick! Someone pull it back up before someone notices!"

The Order of Parameters - Revisited

Rhino Plugins: VisualArq - Architectural Tools for Rhino

SketchUp Plugins: Loft

Imported Images and Sheets

Customized Revit Families - Revit Content

2010 EE ProPack Software Now Available!

Happy Birthday, Canada -- older than most

The AUGI Board of Directors Ballot is OPEN - 2009 Special Election

Custom Command Images

Web 2.0 "4 or 5 Years" Away for AutoCAD

(Hyper)link your drawing

AutoCAD Architecture AND Revit?

Autodesk Labs Graduates Page under construction

Dirty Old Architecture Made Beautiful

Just a thought or two…

Blogger: slo Arch

DWT Format and Drawing Versions

Everybody Wants to Be, Closer to Free

You can now display intersecting (straight) centerlines in AutoCAD MEP 2010

Import X,Y Coordinates from Excel into AutoCAD

I am currently on vacation but wanted to share a great AutoCAD Tip from my friend the AutoCAD Trainer Guy Michael Beal. Michael always has great tips and clear instructions in his monthly “Michael’s Corner” available on the web as well as a monthly newsletter.

The following tip is from Michael’s Corner May 2009.

Instructions to Create a Drawing with X,Y Coordinates from Excel

You may also want to consider…

New BIM Magazine from AUGI

AutoCAD: Find those Commands You can't Remember

Adobe Employees Get 3 Xtra Weeks Vacation

Example Analytics from It's Alive in the Lab

____(1)fest 2009

Ask DailyAutoCAD: Which Notebook to Buy?

Convert Multiple Block DWGs into one Tool Palette with the DesignCenter

AUGI Special Election – voting opens

SketchUp Books: The Missing Manual

AutoCAD: Control How You Mirror Texts

MechQ Offer - Expires in a few days....

Disconnect Markers

Use the Shift key as a shortcut

Xref, Dref, and Plotting

McEleney Cloudy CEO

Layer Search

New version of SI Xchange for Autodesk Revit Structure 2010 and STAAD.Pro

Project Showroom 1.0.20 Now Available

Moving Forward Means Change

Future of CAD Journalism in Good Hands

More Revit Components

How to Prevent Command Dialog Boxes to Appear?

Need Help Identifying A Painting? Revit3D.com to the rescue...

The Essential Reader: It's Not News

MindManager Vs Nvidia, I win!

Compound Walls - How Much?

New Build - Not Available Just Yet

Sirince – IZMIR

Related Posts from LinkWithin

Request for Help Identifying a Painting

e0434f4dh Exception at 7c812aebh - Crash AutoCAD MEP

Filter Unplaced or Unenclosed Items

HVAC Tool for AutoCAD

Role Reversal: eBook Becomes Print Book

Autodesk Shutdown for US Employees Next Week

Tweet Tweet: Twit or Twitter?

AUGI Salary Survey – last few days